Barry Season 3 Episode 3 Review

gamerant.com:

Warning: This review contains spoilers for season 3, episode 3 of Barry.

The latest season of Bill Hader’s hitman comedy Barry kicked off with two intense, nail-biting episodes paying off all the tension that fans had been sitting with for three years. This week’s third episode, “ben mendelsohn,” calms down a little, with none of the expected shocking turns or jaw-dropping ramifications. But it’s still a great addition to the season with plenty of riveting character development (and a handful of laugh-out-loud moments, like the Spider-Man question).

The third episode might not have any massive plot developments, but it’s not filler, either. In her first writing credit on the show, Emma Barrie has proven that she understands these characters on a deep level. Barry deals with guilt, Gene deals with Barry’s blackmail scheme, Hank deals with a gang war, and Sally deals with self-promotion. “ben mendelsohn” has all the hallmarks of a great Barry episode; it’s just missing the explosive payoffs from the previous two installments.

Barry Season 3 Episode 2 Review

Not every episode can provide those payoffs. The show needs to build to them, and Barrie’s script does a solid job of that in the third episode. Everybody’s storylines are heading toward dire consequences: Hank and Cristobal are each desperately trying to call off a war between their two gangs; Sally’s young co-star is becoming increasingly concerned about Barry’s temper; Fuches is intent on exacting vengeance against his old protégé. “ben mendelsohn” doesn’t build to any huge payoffs within the episode itself, but those payoffs are surely on the way in the coming weeks.

While the storytelling is less eventful than usual, this episode is just as masterfully directed as all